A Spoonful of Sugar
by binaryeclipse
Summary: Edward/Bella. Wedding day bliss, with sugar for everyone to make the ending happy. Sugary, rot your teeth out sweetness. You have been warned. XD


A Spoonful of Sugar

"...and by the power invested in me by the state of Washington. I now pronounce you husband and wife." There was a twinkle in the judge's eyes as he watched us, making us wait for that last, all-important permission. My eyes went to Edward's face, and the joy I found there made my heart soar. There was a rightness to this moment, he'd known it all along, the hard part had been making me believe. As I gazed up at him, at my husband's face, a look in his eyes meant for me alone, I could say it now... I believed. "You may kiss the bride."

My hands held tight in his, Edward ducked his head, as shy as if this were the first time. I watched through my eyelashes as he leaned close, and as his lips pressed lightly, gently, to mine, I felt the first of the tears spill over. "Don't cry." His voice was a whisper against my cheeks as he kissed them away.

"It's what you do," I said, my voice trembling with emotion. "When you love someone so much it hurts."

He looked at me then, and I knew the tears were for us both. Letting go of my hands, he cradled my face, the pad of his thumb stroking my cheekbone. Then he kissed me again, a _real_ kiss, and our guests showed their approval with raucous applause. With a brilliant smile, he pulled back, taking my hand. Alice darted forward and gave me my bouquet, kissing my cheek before she retreated.

"Ladies and gentlemen! May I introduce, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Cullen!" I took a deep breath, my eyes moving over the guests. Even with my ruthless guestlist edits, Alice had still managed to sneak in an impressive number. I saw my mother, leaning against Phil as she sobbed into a tissue. My father stood stoic nearby, but I was sure that the glitter of moisture in his eyes wasn't just my imagination. Esme and Carlisle beamed at me, as joyful as if I was as much their child as Edward.

"Ready Mrs. Cullen?" My eyes came back to him, as they always did, drinking in the sight of him standing by my side. I smiled, my hand squeezing his.

"Let's do this." Laughing with delight, Edward led me back down the aisle.

The reception was at a small country inn on the south side of Forks. The day had cooperated beautifully, giving us overcast skies with no rain. White lights were hung from the trees, small tables spread with white linens and matched candles scattered through the courtyard. There was a cake that stood taller than Edward, covered with spun sugar flowers and lace. I confess I had far too much fun 'feeding' the first piece of it to my new husband. He was the soul of restraint, daubing a bit of icing on my nose before letting me take a bite. I, on the other hand, made sure he wore most of his.

"So you wouldn't have to eat it," I explained, batting my eyes with pure innocence as he glared through the remains of a sugar flower.

A covered pavilion had been setup for dancing, and it was there I seemed destined to spend most of my time. The first dance was with Edward, of course, sans cake, and he chuckled softly as my eyes widened to the sound of one of his original compositions coming over the speakers. "I call this 'Bella's Song,'" he breathed in my ear. "Do you like it?"

"What do you think?" Fresh tears welled up in my eyes, and he kissed me as the music soared.

Then I danced with Charlie, as Edward spun a graceful Esme around the floor. "You look beautiful today," my father said gruffly, trying to keep his emotions under control.

"Thanks Dad." I smiled, then leaned up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek.

Next was Carlisle, then Edward again, followed by the discovery that Phil had two left feet. Surprisingly it was Emmett who saved me, whirling me easily through the other dancing couples as he teased me, laughing with pleasure when I blushed. I had just left him to Rosalie at the edge of the crowd, catching sight of Edward charming Renee' when I heard a soft, husky voice behind me.

"Got time for a dance with an old friend?" My heart pounding, I whirled and looked up, way up, into Jacob's familiar face. Instantly, Emmett was back at my elbow with Rosalie on my other side, and the tension spiked. Across the pavilion, Edward was still with my mother, but I saw his eyes on us, intent and unfriendly.

"I swear to god, if you turn my wedding reception into a brawl, I will kill every one of you myself, starting with _you_, Jake." I snarled it through my teeth, so fiercely that even Emmett looked down at me in surprise.

Jacob raised his hands, his expression neutral. "I'm not here to fight, I just want a dance with the bride. That's all." I waited, but neither vampire backed down.

"You heard him, he just wants to dance. This is _my_ reception, and I'd like to _dance_ with _my_ friend." It didn't matter that I wasn't sure it was a good idea. Now it was just the principle of the damned thing. Emmett looked over my head, towards Edward, and I followed his gaze. Edward didn't look happy, but when he caught sight of my face, he frowned and nodded. Emmett and Rosalie took a single step back and I stepped forward, putting my hand in Jacob's.

He was still an awkward dancer, and I wasn't much better even with practice, but we managed. Once we were on the floor, he relaxed a bit, looking down at me in appreciation. "You look beautiful, Bells. I really mean that."

"Thanks." I smiled at him. "I'm surprised you're here. I thought it would be too... difficult."

He smiled back, but there was a sadness to it. "This is easier than it would have been, to be there earlier, I mean." The ceremony, watching me pledge myself to someone else. Yeah, I got that. "Although, I gotta tell you, Bells." He ducked his head, and then finally looked up at me with a shy and wondrous smile. "I think I'm going to be okay." There was something about him, something different. A light in his eyes that hadn't been there before.

"Something happened."

"Yeah." The smile widened. "That's another reason that I'm here. There's someone I want you to meet." Someone... I knew before he swung me around, knew it before he took me by the hand and led me towards her. She was pretty in a very natural way. Tall and willowy, with long, strawberry-blonde hair and dark blue eyes. She was older than either of us, in her twenties, and as she caught sight of Jacob moving toward her, the smile she had for him made her beautiful.

"Bella." Jacob reached out, took her hand. "This is Beth." I didn't have to see the beautiful wolf carving on a delicate chain around her neck, the look in his eyes told me everything.

"Jake... you found her." From the first time I'd heard about this strange phenomena, I'd wondered how it would feel. Would I be jealous? Would I hate her? Did I have the right to feel anything at all? Instead there was simply... peace. Love for him, joy for his joy, and an overwhelming sense of relief. He'd be alright, there was someone in this world that would love him as he deserved to be loved, and she was standing by his side.

Elizabeth Foster was twenty-three, a graduate student who had come to Washington to study the re-emergence of the wolves of the Olympic Peninsula. She'd been hiking in the forest in search of the elusive wolves, when Jacob had saved her from an angry grizzly. If that wasn't fate, I don't know what else it could be.

As soon as he could politely dump Renee on Phil, Edward appeared beside me. There was still tension in him, but I could tell he already knew what Jacob had come to tell me as he slipped his arm around my waist. Jacob eyed him for a long moment, then extended his hand, which Edward gingerly accepted.

"Congratulations." As much as he could, all things considered, he meant it. And Edward knew that better than I did.

"Thank you."

Jacob's hand tightened on Edward's, and I sighed, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. "You take care of her. If I _ever_ find out you've hurt her again..."

"I'll let you do the killing," Edward said quietly.

"Right." They both nodded, and then Elizabeth elbowed Jacob firmly in the side.

"Jacob Black, you be nice." Oh, I rather liked her. He looked down at her with sorrowful puppy eyes. She arched an eyebrow, then laughed. "That's not going to get you out of it this time." Yeah, I definitely liked her. "C'mon pup, I want to dance."

As we watched Beth tug a protesting Jacob out on the dance floor, Edward slid both arms around me, pressing a kiss to my forehead. "Are you alright?"

"Me?" I put my arms around his neck, gazing up into his golden eyes. "I am... amazing." He chuckled, soft and low.

"Yes, you are."

"Seriously." I couldn't stop looking at him, he was just that beautiful. "I honestly think this may be the happiest day of my life." And it was so worth it, saying that, just to see the way he looked at me when I did.

"I _know_ it's the happiest day of mine." Leaning down, he kissed me, the sort of slow, lingering kiss that made promises about what we planned to try that night. The butterflies threatened at that thought, but a flock of little devils held them down, letting me enjoy kissing my new husband until I was breathless.

Edward's lips wandered lower, lingering with fondness at my neck. "So tell me..." his voice was full of mischief. "What's this I hear about a garter?"

"Alice," I muttered. "I am going to _kill_ you."

Laughing, he lifted me off my feet and twirled us, all thoughts of garters and killing temporarily set aside as he pulled us back into a dance.


End file.
